re: Missouri vs. West Virginia Saturday Sep. 3

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Y'all might not win, though I think you do, but double digits?

Not with the defense you have and the defense they have.

If I had to make a pick... Mizzou wins a close one with a subpar but efficient offense and a dominant defense.

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They are replacing a lot of people on the back end of a defense that had a hard time keeping teams with a pulse in check. The bulk of their passing defense efficiency #s came in the last 4 conference games of the year vs teams that were at the bottom of their league throwing the ball.

I get that the general thought is that MU isn't going to have a good offense. The same thought prevailed prior to 2013 because of the 2012 season. While I don't think MU will be 3rd in the SEC in Total offense and Scoring, they won't be last. "We do what we do" is sitting on a 40' SeaRay in the Gravois arm and the team will be better for it. I say that with nothing but respect for what GP did in his 15 seasons on the sidelines.

I think JH will come up with ways to get more than 31 redzone attempts on the season. The expectations at WR will be different under Hill as well.

I almost broke my TV about 45 times last year because We couldn't figure out that it was suicide to not leave a TE and RB in to chip or help block. What good does 4-5 routes do when your QB has 3 seconds to throw ALL FREAKING GAME!

They would have had to line the TE up right behind Mitch Hall for him to have been any use. Hall couldn't get off the snap in 2014 and they replaced him. He couldn't get off the snap last year and instead of giving a RSFr a shot, they left Hall in their for opposing DCs focus on. Ablen had his issues as a young player but Hall never got any better. Might be a great person but his upper body couldn't compensate for his feet and hips.

Brady was a good player but LDE doesn't make or break a 4-3 defense. The DTs and MLB will always stir the drink and they are the same as last year. Control the A/B gaps and MU has the athletes to play sideline to sideline at SLB, WLB, and SS.

I am looking forward to seeing Andy Hill's group compete against WVU's secondary.

WVU-Missouri, state kids leaving and pocket talk

I think one of the big differences will be our ability to run the ball, with Ross (grad from Oklahoma), Strong (transfer from junior college) and Damarea Crockett, who's coming in at 220-225. Scherer had some great things to say about Crockett, and he's a true freshman. Mizzou will have three guys who are big strong backs that we didn't have last year. Witter will be a great deal more effective as a quick, outside runner in combination with these bruisers.

I also believe that Elarbee will get better performance out of the offensive line.

If we can effectively run the ball, Lock won't be pummeled constantly in third and long situations. Heupel being the new QB coach and OC will help a lot. I was so frustrated with our playcalling last year.

I think our passing attack will benefit from the addition of Black and the return amd maturation of almost every other receiver. It's great to have Hill back at his best coaching position--receivers, where he's proven to be a great coach.

If we even get 40th percentile or so performance out of our offense and with our defense, this team will very likely beat West Virginia and be an eight game winner on the season.

Edit: spelling

The offensive line lost ground both years under Ricker.

Take a look at what Elarbee accomplished at Arky State with less talent than we have. I'm also betting Heupel is smart enough to figure out what we can do given the resources we have, unlike Henson, who was maddening last year with his play calls. We needed to be creative, and we weren't.

Our line WILL be better, but so will just about every other aspect of the offense, and for a variety of reasons. If we can even play mediocre on offense, this team could make some noise in the SEC East with our defense.